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WILLY RUSSELL (1947 - ) |
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Nationality: English Email: n/a Website: Click here to visit |
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Literary Agent: Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Ltd |
Willy Russell was born in Liverpool in 1947. He became a hairdresser on leaving school, then undertook a variety of jobs, also writing songs which were performed in local folk clubs. He also wrote songs and sketches for local radio programmes. At 20 years of age, he returned to college and became a teacher in Toxteth, after which he began to become interested in writing drama. His first play, Keep your Eyes Down, was produced in 1971, and he became well-known after his musical about the Beatles, John, Paul, George, Ringo & and Bert, ran for eight weeks at Liverpool Everyman Theatre. It was transferred to the West End and won the Evening Standard and London Theatre Critic Award for best musical in 1974. Since then he has written several plays, including Educating Rita (1981), about a working-class woman who decides to study English with the Open University and Shirley Valentine (1988), a housewife who becomes transformed after a holiday in Greece. Both plays were made into films from Willy Russells own screenplays starring Julie Walters and Pauline Collins respectively, each winning an Oscar nomination, as did the author for best screenplay. He has also written plays for television, including the well-received Our Day Out (1984). Willy Russell has continued to write songs since the early 1960s. He wrote the lyrics and score for his popular musical Blood Brothers (1986), about a pair of twins separated at birth. The show has been playing in the West End since 1983 and won 3 Best Music Award and one Best Actress Award at the Laurence Olivier Awards. He also wrote the score for Shirley Valentine, and for several other television series and plays. His first album, Hoovering the Moon, was released in 2003. In 2000, Willy Russell published his first novel, The Wrong Boy. It is currently being adapted for television. He lives and works in Liverpool.
Plays by Willy Russell
Blind Scouse | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1972 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30426 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | includes Keep Your Eyes Down, Playground, Sam O'Shanker | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Blood Brothers | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1983 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Stanley Thorne Ltd | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0748701827 | |||
| Music: | Original cast recording: Castle (CLACD 270) | doollee no | #30427 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Musical | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 5 | ||
Parts other: | extras | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A Liverpudlian West Side Story: twin brothers are separated at birth because their mother cannot afford to keep them both. She gives one of them away to wealthy Mrs Lyons and they grow up as friends in ignorance of their fraternity until the inevitable quarrel unleashes a blood-bath. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Boy With The Transistor Radio, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Stanley Thornes, 1987 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30428 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Childrens 1 Act Youth Audience | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 7 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | extras | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Breezeblock Park | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1975 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, London, 1978 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30429 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Three married couples, 'superior' council-house dwellers, regard themselves as a close-knit family, a team, despite their generally concealed jealousies. When one of their daughters, Sandra, announces she is pregnant and intends to live unmarried with her student lover, Tim, the news explodes like an atom bomb. Tim himself is unhappy about the arrangement and tries to make Sandra realise she now has responsibilities, but she walks out on them all. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Cantril Tales, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1975 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30430 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | written with Others | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Educating Rita | ||
| 1st Produced: | Warehouse, Covent Garden, London | 16 Jun 1980 | ||||
Company: | RSC | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, London, 1981 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30431 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Pygmalion-style drama about a hairdresser's literary quest. | |||||
Further Reference: | RSC ref EDR198006 | |||||
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I Read The News Today | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, London, 1987 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30432 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Childrens Youth Audience | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | 1st written for radio | |||||
Synopsis: | a gunman is loose in a local radio station | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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John, Paul, George and Bert | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1974 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30433 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Keep Your Eyes Down | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1971 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30434 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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One For the Road | ||
| 1st Produced: | Manchester | 1976 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, London, 1980 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30435 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | aka Painted Veg and Parkinson; Happy Returns; Dennis the Menace | |||||
Synopsis: | The vandalisation of suburbia causes more than consternation when perpetrator is exposed to his friends | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Our Day Out | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1983 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Act I", Hutchinson, London, 1979 | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0435233013 | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30436 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Childrens musical play Youth Audience | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | 20c | |||||
Notes: | televised 1977 | |||||
Synopsis: | Unruly children on a school trip | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Our Day Out - The Musical | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1983? | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #119823 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Musical | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | large cast | |||||
Notes: | by Willy Russell based on his play with songs by Willy Russell and Bob Eaton | |||||
Synopsis: | Mrs Kay's Progress Class are off to Alton Towers until Mr Briggs gets on board& The destination might have changed but there is no stopping the fun on a trip for the class that always gets left behind. The show is packed full of big dance numbers and fantastic songs that had the Royal Court rocking for weeks. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Politics And Terror | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in "Wordplays 1" Hutchinson, London, 1982 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30437 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Shirley Valentine | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1986 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | ISBN/ASIN: | - | ||||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30438 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A holiday in Greece refreshes an unhappy middle aged Liverpool housewife in more ways than one | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Stags and Hens | ||
| 1st Produced: | 1978 | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Samuel French, London, 1985 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30439 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 5 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | study of working class misogyny as separate stag and hens parties converge | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Tam Lin | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1972 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30440 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Childrens Youth Audience | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | music by Russell | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Terraces | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | in Second Playbill I, Hutchinson, London, 1973 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30441 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Childrens Youth Audience | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 6 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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When the Reds | ||
| 1st Produced: | Liverpool | 1973 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #30442 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Adaptation | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | from The Tigers Are Coming - O.K.? by Alan Plater | |||||
Synopsis: |
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Further Reference: | - | |||||
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